DIY Painting China Ware

reading time: ca. 3 min

Hello my fellow crafters!

Long time no DIY.

So today i come to you with a tutorial on how to decorate china ware. Because let's face it. What's better on a gloomy November day than doing something crafty whilst listening to music or an audio book?

Also, you will be using your personalized cup (for warming tea, hot chocolate or coffee) or your bowl (for warm oatmeal, soup, cereal, casserole) a lot during winter time. Or you could make this a present for Christmas! For your mother, child, partner, grandma...

- a design of your choice (practice beforehand!)- an oven Step 01The design. I had quite a wide range to choose from: moustaches, lettering, hearts, patterns, animals, flowers, musical notes, etc. The first decision you have to make is what kind of china ware you want to use. That may help you to find the design too, as larger, horizontal designs are more suited for bowls, whereas smaller designs and details show to advantage on cups.In my sketchbook above and below you may get some inspiration for your own design!

IMPORTANT: Before drawing on the porcelain, glass or glazed ceramic surface, make sure to clean it well, as it has to be free of any grease and dust!

Also, make sure not to draw inside the bowl or cup, but only outside where the food or beverage will not come in contact with the paint!

To test out the actual shade and diameter of the pens, i wrote "made by Maisy" on the bottom of my bowl before i did anything else.

Step 03

Let your freshly painted china ware dry according to the instructions on your pen. Mine required at least 4 hours, so i set it aside overnight. You may notice that the colours may look a little different afterwards, maybe slightly darker or lighter.

By the way, the design i went for in the end was this funny cat / mouse animal thingy (Nr 18 in my sketchbook) with a curly tail, a vest, a big lollipop in one hand and a string in the other. The string winds itself round to the bowl and turns out to be a beetle on a leash. I thought this was super cute :)

Step 04

Lastly, place your china ware in cold oven and "bake", again according to the instructions. Mine called for at least 30 minutes in a non-preheated oven at 160°C. I left it in the oven for 60 minutes, then switched it off, and left the hot bowl inside the oven to cool down, as the instructions said.

After it has cooled down completely, take out your painted china ware, check if the paint stays on, and use it at your leisure!

I, for example, filled mine with warming Caramelized Banana Oatmeal, and the bowl did survive the washing-up, though i only did the washing by hand, and not in the dish washer because i still don't entirely trust the paint to stay on. But we'll see. For now i'm very happy with my little cat mouse guy :)

Good luck!

I'm thrilled to be included in the Mother's Day round-up over on the Rae Gun Ramblings website. Thank you!